POLL: Only 20% Of Americans Say Trans Athletes Should Compete Against Gender Of Their Choice Mary Margaret Olohan on July 26, 2021

Only 20% of Americans believe that transgender athletes should choose which gender they should compete against in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, a new Axios/Momentive poll found.

Internet polling released Monday found that 39% of Americans believe transgender athletes should compete against athletes of their biological sex, while 20% of Americans said that transgender athletes should compete against athletes of the gender they identify with.

The Axios/Momentive poll found that 14% of Americans think that transgender athletes should not be allowed to compete, and 23% of Americans said they did not know. The poll, done by Survey Monkey, did not include a margin of error.

While 25% of Democratic respondents, 58% of Republicans, and 35% of Independents said that transgender athletes should compete against athletes of their biological sex, 35% of Democrats, 8% of Republicans, and 18% of Independents said transgender athletes should compete against athletes of the gender they identify with.

Republican respondents showed the highest number of those who said that transgender athletes should not be allowed to compete at all, 23%.

At least 142 publicly LGBTQ athletes are participating in this year’s Olympic Games, Axios reported, “more than have participated at all other Summer Games combined.”

A POLITICO/Morning Consult poll released in March found that 53% of registered voters do not support biological males competing in women’s sports, and earlier this year, Axios found that GOP lawmakers have introduced more bills aimed at protecting women and children in 2021 than they did in all of 2020.